


Waiting

by Evening_with_a_Stranger



Category: Krashlyn - Fandom
Genre: 911, Angst, Dark, Established Relationship, F/F, Love, Panic, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 15:56:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12084342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evening_with_a_Stranger/pseuds/Evening_with_a_Stranger
Summary: A dark day, during a dark time. Waiting and angst ensues.WARNING: based on actual events - triggers beware.





	Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> This... Is sensitive. Based on a dream I had after watching a documentary on the anniversary of such a traumatic event. Apologies if it triggers anyone, but I just needed to put 'pen to paper'.

Disorientated. 

That was the only way to describe how Ali felt when she woke up this morning. She woke up to an empty bed, something that she always struggled with having been in a relationship for the better part of her adult life. Ali stretches her body with a gentle moan like always. She does her best to remove the kinks formed from a night of restless sleep. She reaches out. Most of the time her hand would find that of her lovers body, more than likely still knocked out after a long night on shift. They would spend a few minutes together, just holding each other, breathing each other in. Ali, thankful that her lover, Ashlyn, was back from a long shift spent on call at the firehouse. Ashlyn, thankful that she was able to wake up to the most beautiful woman she had ever seen and to have been doing it for the better part of seven years - still incredible. But today was different. Her left hand runs over the cold unused sheets on her lovers side of the bed - she knows that she will find that it’s cold. It’s just her routine. The way she begins each and every day, like clock work. She knows that Ashlyn isn’t here. She is in New York. She has been in New York all week but something about today fell different. 

Ali pushes herself off their bed. Moves into their en-suite and begins her routine of preparing for her day. As usual, she would shower, brushes her hair, turns on the radio in the kitchen and listens to the news while she makes herself some toast with avocado and most importantly - coffee. She savors the first few sips of coffee like always, it’s her special time, her saving grace that got her through most days. As she went through the motions, she noticed an unusual feeling in her stomach. She didn’t know what it was. A feeling of uncertainty. She listens closely to the radio for anything out of the ordinary but everything seems to be quiet on the news front. It settles her for the moment. She goes about changing into appropriate work clothing - not needing to be in the office until mid morning. She puts her hair up into a tight ponytail. Does her makeup. Does everything exactly the same as every morning for the passed four years since graduating college and getting a job with a highly reputable marketing company. Excluding weekends, of course. It’s then that Ali finally checks her cell phone. Only one message - at 7:30am in the morning - one message was absolutely perfect. She opens the message and bites her bottom lip when Ashlyn’s name is highlighted, opening the message.

“Hey Babe. Just wanted to say good morning. I’ve got a big day today so probably won’t be able to talk all that much, but I love you. Will call you once I’m done for the day. Deep breaths, Babe. You’ve got this. Good luck. X”

Ali smiles. There are butterflies in her stomach and she can’t believe it. She couldn’t believe that after seven years, this incredible woman would still be able to make her feel giddy. She couldn’t believe that even though Ashlyn was busy inspecting a new firehouse that had just been commissioned - she still managed to remember that Ali had a huge client meeting that could make or break her company and their financial standings. Amazing. Ali quickly sends a reply before chugging the dregs of her coffee and putting the dirty dishes in the sink for later. For now, the uneasy feeling in her stomach has been put to rest. She places her cell in her purse along with her iPad and throws it over her shoulder before grabbing her keys, opening the front door, locking it and closes it behind her before heading to work. 

 

**

By 8am Ali walks into the office. She greets those already at their desks already, like always. She heads to her office and sets her things down. As usual, her first mission was to tackle her emails - no doubt there would be at least a hundred new emails given the importance of this client meeting. Ali can already feel a headache brewing. She leans forward and rubs her temples as she browses the screen noticing at least twenty emails from her advisors who are clearly panicking under the pressure of such a large business deal that is about to unfold. It’s at times like these, she wonders how the people who run this company have managed to get where they are. Yet, here she was, dealing with shit far above her pay grade and the worst thing about it was - that she loved it. She loved the pressure. The feeling of other people relying on her was what she lived for. She loved being thrown into tough situations like this - she would never admit it to anyone other than Ashlyn of course. She puts her head down and begins to smash out her business proposal. She is lost between her presentation notes, her emails, and the constant interruptions from her assistant, Sydney, who had been forced to play devils advocate between her and her bosses who are at boiling point by this point. To Ali, the world outside her office no longer exists. 

 

**

“Hey Sydney, how are they holding up?”

Ali takes a moment to pop her head out of her office door. It’s been over ten minutes since an email or emotional phone call from one of her bosses and the silence is causing Ali to panic. She finds it odd that the entire office is silent, huddled around the flat screen on the wall next to her office. Everyone’s faces fixed with horror as they watched whatever it was that was unfolding. Before Ali has a chance to ask what’s happening, she hears her cell. Missy Elliot’s “Pass That Dutch” her heart immediately goes into overdrive. It’s Ashlyn calling her. Ashlyn never calls her during work hours unless it’s important. She fumbles through the paper work that now covered her desk until she finally finds the device and holds it to her ear.

“Baby? Is everything okay?”

She can feel bile in her throat as she asks the question - even with not knowing what was happening. There is a pause and Ali knows that it’s bad. 

“Alex.” Ashlyn’s voice was breathless. Almost as if she was in a state of shock. 

“Ash, where are you?”

She can hear the sounds of sirens in the background which could only mean the she was out on a job - strange when she was supposed to be playing ‘inspector’ while she was in New York.

“Something’s happened, Alex.”

Ali’s hand subconsciously moves to her ever so slightly swelling belly. 

“What? What’s happened? Baby, tell me what’s going on?”

“I-I… We don’t know what’s happened. But it’s bad… Alex, I just needed to hear your voice… I needed to tell you I love you, okay.”

Ali feels as if her chest has been punched in the chest. Tears cascade down her cheeks as her mind goes into overdrive with endless possibilities. She is lost in the thick of it. Unable to respond to her lover’s words at first. This all seems too real. Too real and too scary for Ali’s liking. She had known that Ashlyn’s job was dangerous but sometimes it was just too much. Sometimes, like now, Ali wished that Ashlyn had chose a far more mundane career. Pushing paper and crunching numbers instead of pulling hoses and dousing fires. 

“Alex, I have to go.”

She panics. 

“No wait! Ashlyn, Baby! I love you. I love you so much. Please be careful. Please.”

The line goes dead. 

Ali’s heart stops. 

That weird, unnerving feeling she had earlier makes it’s presence known in the pit of her stomach as she exits her office to join the rest of her colleagues huddled around the TV. She recognizes New York. Sees the smoke. The fires. The replays of an explosion at the Trade Center. She knows immediately that that is where Ashlyn was headed. She, along with hundreds of other emergency response teams were headed to this absolutely horrific scene. There are no words to describe the events unfolding. Of reports flooring the networks about the situation. News reports were murky. Most reports said nothing as there was no real word coming in at the moment. 

Then rumors of a plane. 

A plane. Crashing into the tower. 

How has this happened?Everyone is in shock. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone in the office is emotional. It didn’t matter if anyone knew anyone involved - this scene was terrifying and everyone felt it. People hugged each other. Cried on their shoulders. Watched on in horror. They watch as people begin jumping out of buildings. There was no way to even comprehend anything that was unfolding right now. She feels a hand on her shoulder and turns to the concerned, saddened expression on Sydney’s face. Being Ali’s assistant and her best friend - she knew that Ashlyn was there. 

“Ash is in there isn’t she?”

Ali doesn’t need to say anything for her to confirm Sydney’s question and the grip on her arm tightens. They don’t need words at this point. A few other people in the office jump on their phones to confirm the whereabouts of their family and friends. There are tears throughout the entire floor. People are in shock. Of course. This was unexpected. Unparalleled to anything that had ever taken place in New York’s history before. And then. A second plane crashes into the second tower.Eyes widen. 

The floor is in absolute shock. 

This was impossible. 

How could this have happened?

No words. 

The words ‘terrorist attack’ thrown across the screens.

It’s hard to believe that this is actually happening. That this is real. 

 

**

Word gets out that downtown Washington was going into lock-down. Reports of planes heading their way forces everyone to leave, to head home, to keep safe and in contact as best as they could. Sydney follows Ali back to her house and calls her husband, Dom, on the way - telling him to meet them at Ali’s place. Once inside, the Tv is turned on immediately. Ali listens to messages left on her land line from her brother, her mother, Ashlyn’s mother and brother. They each leave distressed messages, not knowing if Ashlyn was caught up in the terror and unable to get of a hold of her themselves. She quickly calls Ashlyn’s mother and tells her all she knows - which is almost nothing. She assures her that she will contact her if and when she hears any news. The same promises made to her own mother. The conversations almost broke Ali. This whole not knowing what was happening ‘thing’ was breaking her in a much worse way than she had ever expected.

She was thankful to have Sydney there with her as they sat in front of the TV glued to it even though the scenes displayed were horrifying. Ali kept her cell to her chest in the hopes of hearing something, anything from her lover. The pair watch as the second tower to get hit is the first to collapse. Collapse. 

“Oh my god.”

Sydney gasps. 

Ali runs to the bathroom.

She spills the contents of her breakfast into the toilet.

A pain in her chest she has never felt before hits her and she is sobbing. 

She holds a hand to her belly - looking down, her eyes blurred from her tears. Guilt overtaking her body. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell Ashlyn. To tell her that she was carrying her baby. After years of wanting and years of building a solid foundation to be able to support a child and now - now there was a high possibility that Ashlyn may never get the chance to meet their baby. 

It’s too much. 

She hears a knocking on the front door but has no energy to get up. She knows that Sydney will take care of it and when she doesn’t hear any calls for her to come out, she knows it must be Dom and that they are in need of a moment or two of their own. She happily gives it to them so that she can brush her teeth and re-apply her mascara. Taking a deep breath. Ali makes her way out into the lounge room. Before she even has time to register what’s happening, she is enveloped into a bear-hug. Dom’s arms crush her and she crushes him back with everything she has left. Dom was Ashlyn’s best friend and fellow fire fighter. 

“She’s going to be okay.”

He whispers reassuringly and Ali does her best to believe him. She knows that he is saying those words to comfort them both. It seems to be working better for him at this point. The fact that he hasn’t managed to let go of her yet, that she can feel his unsteady breath. He does well to keep himself together and will Ali go after a few more moments. He doesn’t quite let her go until he looks directly into her eyes to make sure she believes his words. She forces a smile. Ali doesn’t do well with emotional situations like this but she needed them, Dom and Sydney, especially now. 

The three friends all sit down together and continue to watch the terror unfold. They watch as the city of New York is swallowed by debris. They watch as pictures of the Pentagon in flames spread across the network. It’s hit here. It’s hit their city. Whatever this was. It’s found them here. 

They hear about firefighters being called in who are off duty. They hear of schools in the area. Of hospitals quickly filling to capacity. They sit in Ali and Ashlyn’s home, helpless. She can’t even comprehend what could possibly be happening in the city. It looks like a war zone. Ali tries her best not to notice the way that Sydney clings to Dom. The undeniable relief she has that Dom is here, safe. It’s what Ali yearns for as she watches the horror continue to unfold.And then it happens. 

The second tower collapses. Ali can’t take it. Not this again. She moves into their bedroom - hers and Ashlyn’s. She pulls out her cell and dials her lover’s number. It’s a slim chance that she will answer but she needs to try. She hears the painstaking ringtone. 

One ring. 

Two rings. 

“You’ve reached Ashlyn Harris. I can’t come to the phone right now so leave a message and I’ll get back to y’all soon.”

Beep.

Ali takes a deep breath. She doesn’t know what to say or how to keep herself from sounding too emotional. She is beyond emotional by this point but doesn’t want to make Ashlyn feel guilty. It’s not her fault. It’s out of her control, but it doesn’t stop Ali from hurting. 

“Hey Baby. It’s me. I just need you to call me when you get this okay. I need to know you’re okay. I love you, Ash. Call me.”

She hangs up and curls herself up on their bed, pressing her cell hard against her chest. She can’t bare the idea of going back out to Dom and Sydney right now. She needs to be alone. To come to terms with what was going on even though that would be impossible. Ali wasn’t one for sugarcoating the reality of the situation. She preferred to deal with things head on. She cries. She cries harder than she ever had in her entire life. The idea of living on after losing the love of her life is beyond comprehensible. There is no way she could do that. Not now. Not ever. Her eyes are on fire from crying so much in such a small amount of time. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, allowing herself to drift off for a moment. 

**

“Ali?”

Ali begins to stir, her body feels heavy at first. She stretches her body with a gentle moan like always. She reaches for Ashlyn’s side of the bed and suddenly remembers the events of this morning. She looks around the room to find Sydney’s eyes looking down sympathetically at her. She feels her friend stroking her back gently.

“How you doing in here?”

Sydney’s voice is soft, calming - the way that only Sydney can manage. Ali rubs her eyes, they sting at first and are no doubt still puffy from her tears earlier. She sits up.

“How long was I out?”

“About an hour. You need me to get you anything?”

Ali quickly fumbles through the bed sheets to find her cell. Still nothing. No word from Ashlyn. Her heart sinks. The longer she went without contact, the realer the feeling of losing her sinks in. She shakes her head in no and makes a move to sit up when her home phone begins to ring. Dom is on it immediately. 

“Ali! Kyle’s on the phone.”

He yells after a moment. Ali and Sydney share a look. It’s the look of not wanting to respond but understanding that Ali is not the only person who cares about Ashlyn. She needs to talk to him. Sydney and Dom move into the kitchen to give Ali some privacy. Ali closes her eyes and prepares herself. She loves her brother but sometimes he was very emotional and sometimes it overwhelmed her.

“Kyle.”

She tries to sound calm. She doesn’t want to give to much away. He doesn’t need it - she doesn’t have the energy to give it. 

“Have you heard from her?”

“I spoke to her when she was heading in, but nothing since the second plane…”

There is an awkward pause. She hates this. She hates not knowing anything. Not being in control. She absolutely hates not being in control. 

“Okay… Where are you? Who are you with?”

“I’m at home. Syd and Dom are with me.”

“Good.”

This is strange. Kyle is far more relaxed than she would have expected. It’s caught her off guard and not in a good way. She feels her chest constrict as she begins to panic. Her breath quickens to an alarming rate and Kyle notices.

“Hey, Princess. Calm down. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Just breathe.”

It makes Ali angry in an unexplainable way. She isn’t angry at him. She is angry at the situation. 

“You don’t know that.”

Ali chokes on her words. Her tone is cut throat, harsh and cold to the bone. She doesn’t mean for her words to cause injury but they do. Of course they do, how could they not? She winces at her words - this isn’t her. She doesn’t attack people like this, yet she can’t bring herself to stop. She just needs Ashlyn. She needs something, anything, a sign to know that she is alright. Until then, Ali wasn’t going to be her self. 

“Come on, Alex. Ash is tough. She’s going to be okay.”

Ali bites her lower lip and cries. She wants to believe him but as the images keep looping on the screen, it’s getting harder and harder for her to believe him. She leans against the back of their sofa, struggling to keep herself up. She feels empty. 

“I’m pregnant, Kyle… I haven’t even told her yet.”

With her words, she breaks again. 

“Oh Alex.”

This is new territory for them. There is nothing that he could possibly say to be able to calm her. Nothing but Ashlyn could stop this. 

“I wish I was there but Ash is going to make it. I know it. I know you know it too. Just make sure you look after yourself and that baby. You hear me?”

Ali breathes deeply, trying to pull herself together. She doesn’t need to voice just how scared to death she feels right now. That she has never felt anything like this in her entire life. She didn’t need to. The fact that she was the more emotional of the Krieger siblings was indication enough. 

“I-I hear you. Thank you Kyle.”

“You never have to thank me. I love you, Alex. Keep me posted. Will work out how to make my way to you. All airports have been shut down but I will get to you somehow okay. I promise.”

Ali forces a smile. She love her brother dearly. She knew that she could always count on her brother. No matter what, she knew he would always be there for her. 

“I’ll keep you posted. I love you.”

She hangs up and lets out a sigh. She needs to try to contact Ashlyn again. 

“You’ve reached Ashlyn Harris. I can’t come to the phone right now so leave a message and I’ll get back to y’all soon.”

Beep.

Disappointment. It rushes over Ali’s body again for the hundredth time that day. 

“Ash… I just need to know if you’re safe. Call me. Please.”

She hangs up. 

 

**

Seconds drag into minutes. Minutes scrape into hours and still there is no word. 

Sydney forces everyone to eat - physically forcing herself to take a few bites of the sandwiches she had made. None of them have an appetite but they knew it was for the best. Ali is quite. Far more quiet than normal. She calls Ashlyn’s cell every hour, on the hour, still nothing. Her mother has called again. Ashlyn’s Gran has called and given Ali her two cents - “She’s going to make it.” Ali would never dare to talk back to Ashlyn’s Gran. The sheer will of that woman made it hard for anyone to doubt her words. She listens to her words, hears her pleas to look after herself. She understands Ali’s behaviour. She knows that Ali will forget to look after herself while worrying about someone she loves. She is smart enough to relay just how devastated Ashlyn would feel if she came home to see Ali neglecting herself, how hurt she would be to see the woman she loved not looking after herself. It works. 

Sydney sends Dom to his firehouse reluctantly, it’s a long shot but perhaps he would hear information about what was going on before reporters and by now - it wasn’t just Ali who was getting desperate. He leaves - promising to contact them with any new information. It was a tough decision for Sydney, but she knew that Ali needed it. She needed something and so she agreed to it and did her best to keep herself busy. They decided that it was best to turn off the TV and switch on the radio instead. Their reasoning behind it being that if they couldn’t see the horror - it would seem as bad as it was. It seems to do the trick for the time being. 

 

**

Twelve hours had passed.

Twelve. 

Twelve phone calls to Ashlyn’s cell go unanswered. Twelve times, Ali’s heart shreds itself into millions of pieces. She doesn’t know how to hold on for much longer. There were reports of victims coming in. Of casualties and wounded. Yet still, there was no word. Sydney was sent home once they had eaten a few bites of their dinner. Ali couldn’t bare to keep company anymore. She was exhausted. She was devastated. She was sick of this absolute helplessness she felt. She finds herself sitting in the darkness of their walk in wardrobe. She sits under Ashlyn’s clothes rack, holding her favorite red and black checkered flannel shirt. She slips an old UNC hoodie of Ashlyn’s over her shoulders and smells the flannel. It smells of burnt wood, of mint and cherry cola. Of Ashlyn. The smell comforts her. It dulls the ache in her chest for the time being. She hears the home phone ring every so often but she doesn’t have it in her to answer anymore. She knows that people will start to worry about her if they can’t get a hold of her but she was done for the time being. No. Right now she needs to be here, locked away from the devastation of the day, smothered in Ashlyn’s favorite clothes and safe for the time being. 

She hears a knock at the door and curses under her breath. How dare someone come and check on her now. Now, at almost ten o’clock at night. It is absolutely inappropriate and she was going to let whoever stood at the door know it. Ali storms out of their bedroom and punches a light on before taring the front door open. She stops dead in her tracks.

Her breath hitches as the figure turns to face her. 

Hazel meets Whiskey. 

A very dirty, very tired and broken Ashlyn stands there still in her debris covered uniform. There is a large gash across her left eyebrow that has been somewhat patched up but has bled through the bandages and has begun weeping. Her eyes are raw and tear marks stain her face. But she was home. 

Ali closes her eyes and shakes herself a little before looking back up. She expects herself to be hallucinating. Ashlyn cannot be here. She just can’t be. But then she hears it. Ashlyn’s soft, exhausted voice. 

“Alex…”

There is a hint of relief in her voice that she has never heard before - it send her emotions into overdrive. Ali feels her knees begin to buckle under the sheer weight she feels lifting from her shoulders even now, just realizing that this wasn’t a dream. As her body begins to lose her balance, she feels strong arms wrap around her body. Ali clings to her lover for dear life - she sobs loudly. Not because she is sad. No. She is beyond happy. Happy isn’t the right word. Relieved. Thankful. She pulls Ashlyn flush against her, a death grip. It’s the one time that Ali will happily touch Ashlyn even though she hasn’t had a shower. She doesn’t care. Not after today. Not after what has happened. She feels Ashlyn’s body heaving against her own which only makes her hold on tighter. She runs her hands up and down Ashlyn’s back as she listens to her love cry harder than she has ever seen before. It’s how she knows that Ashlyn is struggling with what she has been through, what she has seen. 

“Baby, it’s okay, you’re okay. You’re here.”

Ali does her best to sooth her lover on the front porch of their house. Rain begins to fall from the heavens, yet they don’t dare break this moment. It means to much to both of them for different reasons. For the same reasons. Instead they just cling to each other even tighter. 

“I-I …”

“Take your time, Ash.”

Ali says as she pulls away slightly to look at her love. She notices scratches littered across her body. Bruises. A potential broken finger or two that Ashlyn won’t get seen to, not yet. 

“I should shower… I… There is still blood on my uniform.”

Ashlyn removes herself from Ali’s arms and makes her way into their house, taking off her boots before going inside. She doesn’t have any belongings with her. No luggage, no personal belongings to speak of. Nothing. The blond firefighter trudges through the house and closes the bathroom door behind her. Ali wants to say everything that she needed to say. She needed to know why she hadn’t tried to contact her before making the almost four hour drive back to DC. She needed to tell her she loved her. That she was scarred. That she was pregnant. But Ashlyn wasn’t ready for that. Instead, she let’s the blond firefighter do what she needed to do. Ali closes the front door, locks it and goes to their bedroom. She sits on the edge of their bed. Waiting. Always waiting. 

 

**

A clean Ashlyn makes her way into their room, a towel wrapped firmly around her body. It’s clear she had been crying in the shower - Ashlyn always cried in the shower to avoid showing just how much she was hurting. Ali quickly moves off the bed and pulls her into her arms. She kisses her shoulder, her neck, her cheek and then finally her lips. She feels Ashlyn wince and quickly pulls back to see where she was hurt. 

“Baby…”

Ali’s eyes flicker to Ashlyn’s. Her voice cuts out before she can finish as she moves her hands to her lover’s body. Ashlyn’s eyes are screaming for her not to look but Ali would never listen to her if she was in pain. The mentality of ‘I only see a doctor of there blood or bones sticking out’ has never sat well with Ali. She undoes Ashlyn’s towel and drops it to the ground. She gasps. Her body is battered, bruised, burns, scratches. Ali feels her hands shaking. It really hits her. Ashlyn had been there. At the Trade Centers. She had been in the heart of it and she was lucky to have escaped. Lucky. There was no other word that Ali could think of to describe this moment. She feels Ashlyn step closer. She feels her lips pressing to her forehead. She can feel Ashlyn breathing in her scent. 

“I’m okay.”

It’s all she manages to say before Ali caresses her face and kisses her desperately. They kiss until there is no breath in their lungs. The kiss until it is physically impossible to keep doing so. It’s then that Ali breaks. 

“I was so scared. Ash, I’ve never been so scared in my life.” 

Ashlyn holds her tighter. 

“I-I know.”

Ashlyn’s voice is vulnerable. Ali’s never heard Ashlyn’s voice like this before. It’s probably the most terrifying moment she has encountered all day, simply because Ashlyn was there and for the first time ever since they had been together - she had no idea on what Ashlyn was thinking. Her heart is thumping in her chest as she felt Ashlyn’s hands holding her face gently. She feels Ashlyn run her thumb over her lips. She watches as Hazel eyes study her face, tears building up as the reality of this moment sank in for both of them. Ali kisses her lover again. Her hands press gently over Ashlyn’s naked abdomen. She pushes her back. Guides her onto their bed. She straddles Ashlyn. Takes off Ashlyn hoodie, her shirt, her bra. She removes her sleeping shorts before she moves to hover over her love. This wasn’t about sex. No. It was more a confirmation, a reassurance that they were together. That nothing was more convincing than feeling each other flush against each other with nothing between them.

“I never meant to scare you…”

Ali smiles softly. Silent tears stream down her face. 

“I know, Ash. I know you didn’t.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get word out. I lost my cell in the madness. I should have tried to find a phone or something. I should have done something to get word to you.”

Ali runs her finger through Ashlyn’s long locks. She isn’t angry anymore. She doesn’t care about anything that had happened prior to Ashlyn coming home. It didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was this. She had a second chance of sorts. 

“I understand. It’s okay.”

“I just needed to get to you. Nothing else made any sense - I just - I needed to get home. To you.”

Now they are both silently crying. It’s now - as they both hold each other that Ali decides to tell her. She smiles softly as she takes one of Ashlyn’s hands and guides it down to her belly. She presses their hands to her soft flesh and looks into Hazel eyes.

“To us.” 

She knows that Ashlyn doesn’t quite understand straight away. Her eyes flicker down to where Ali holds her hand and then looks back into Whiskey eyes. 

“Us?”

The puppy dog expression in her eyes breaks Ali into a full blown smile. Both struggling to breathe. 

“I’m pregnant, Baby…”

Ali could tell that Ashlyn was beginning to register her words when the blond pressed her fingers into her swollen belly. 

“Yeah?”

She lifts her head, lips inches from Ali’s. She expects this to all be some sort of dream. Like she had made it to the bed and let the exhaustion take over - she was sleeping. But then she sees Ali’s smile and she knows. She knows that this isn’t a dream. Ali. Her Ali. Her Ali was having a baby. Their baby. She pulls Ali’s lips to hers and kisses her with everything she had left. 

“I love you, Alex. I love you so much.” 

Ali smiles. A megawatt smile, that almost knocks the wind out of her chest. 

“I’m so in love with you, Ash.”

 

**

It doesn’t take long for Ashlyn to fall asleep that night. She has been through something unimaginable and survived. She had plans to go back to New York in the morning to search for her friends, for survivors for anyone. She felt that that was where she was meant to be but not tonight. Tonight she belonged here in Ali’s arms, holding a protective arm around Ali’s waist - a hand resting on her belly. It takes a little longer to fall asleep. She studies Ashlyn’s face in the dark. She whispers of thanks. Makes a mental note to call everyone in the morning. She knows it was selfish to keep Ashlyn to herself but she did. She would deal with the consequences in the morning. She caresses her lover’s face, kisses her forehead and settles in for the night. 

“Thank you for coming back to me, Ash. I couldn’t do any of this without you.”

Ali closes her eyes. She knows that things were going to be hard for them over the next few days, months, years. She didn’t care about that right now. All she cared about was that Ashlyn was here. That’s all that mattered. Ashlyn was here and they could work through anything. 

Anything. 

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> Love is sent. 
> 
> Stranger Out.


End file.
